


Grima, the Big Fell Dragon

by Dawn_Blossom



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: (ignore the ridiculous premise please this is a serious fic), Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, and his love made grima grow so big that grima had to take a human form, chrom loves grima the big fell dragon, grima needed chrom so he chose him for his own, grima's so loyal he'll destroy chrom's enemies at his call, grima's the best friend any prince could know, he's the greatest dragon ever (chrom really thinks so), inspired by... hoo boy... clifford the big red dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24400966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawn_Blossom/pseuds/Dawn_Blossom
Summary: Grima was so small that his whole body could fit in the palm of a human hand. And as the tiny thing curled himself around the prince’s fingers seeking warmth, the boy made up his mind.“I won’t let you hurt him,” he declared boldly.And Naga, knowing the stubbornness of the humans she so adored, simply sighed and told him to take good care of the little creature.
Relationships: Chrom/Gimurei | Grima
Comments: 12
Kudos: 163





	Grima, the Big Fell Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Look... this idea came to me when I was in a half-lucid state at 7:00 a.m. while I was falling asleep on the couch with the tv on. The tv was on pbs because I usually don't really care what's on in the background and they deserve the viewership. And Clifford the Big Red Dog came on, and the theme song played, and I had already been thinking about Grima (as always) and it just culminated in a fic idea I could not resist... Chrom adopts Grima as a tiny dragon, then Grima feeds off the love and grows bigger than the castle ridiculously quickly.
> 
> (I don't know how big Clifford the Big Red Dog's presence is outside the US, so if you aren't familiar with the children's show I'm talking about and don't recognize the lyrics I parodied in the tags, [here you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ogFocc3TKc))
> 
> And yes, I specifically posted this on Chrom's birthday. Hope he enjoys his gift of a soulmate :)

A long time ago, there was a genius alchemist who lost himself to grief. He learned how to create life, but the soul he wanted to meet again never came back to him. Terrible things might have resulted from his actions and echoed far into the future, had the powerful divine dragon who called Thabes hers not intervened 

The details are not important. What matters is that a young prince of a neighboring country was given Naga’s blessing to destroy the alchemist whose actions threatened everyone. First, he took down the alchemist’s pets, the masked beings that barely resembled the humans they used to be. Next, he took his blade to the alchemist’s greatest creation, a divine dragon fortified with drops of the alchemist’s own blood, a monstrosity called Grima…

And he couldn’t hurt the dragon. Grima was so small that his whole body could fit in the palm of a human hand. And as the tiny thing curled himself around the prince’s fingers seeking warmth, the boy made up his mind.

“I won’t let you hurt him,” he declared boldly.

And Naga, knowing the stubbornness of the humans she so adored, simply sighed and told him to take good care of the little creature.

And he did. But this is only the end of the beginning.

* * *

“No fair, how come you get to sleep with Grima EVERY night?” Lissa whines. 

“Because I found him,” Chrom insists, already tucking the dragon into the pocket of his pyjama shirt. 

“I was there, too!” Lissa says.

“Well, I’m the one he got attached to,” Chrom says. “Naga says he’s my responsibility, and I take that very seriously.”

“Well, I think you should share him,” Lissa says. “How’s he going to get used to people if you hide him in your pocket all the time?”

“I’m not HIDING him,” Chrom says. 

To prove his point, he reaches into his pocket and… 

“Ah!” Chrom lets out a hiss as Grima bites down on his hand with tiny but very sharp fangs.

“Oh no, I thought he stopped biting people…” Lissa frowns. Suddenly she looks a lot less interested in trying to snuggle with Grima tonight.

“Hey.” Chrom uses his other hand to scoop Grima up, holding him up at eye level. “We talked about this. I don’t care what that awful alchemist said. Blood isn’t food. You can’t have it.”

Grima hisses irritatedly.

“There, there.” Chrom presses a kiss to the top of Grima’s head. “Let’s go to sleep now. In the morning I’ll get you a proper breakfast. Something much more delicious than blood.”

He places Grima back into his pocket, and the dragon settles in. Despite Grima looking quite comfortable, six red eyes stare resentfully up at Chrom.

“I promise you’ll be okay,” Chrom says. “I’m taking care of you now. I mean it. I won’t let you go hungry.”

For a moment, Grima just keeps staring. Then, slowly, he closes his eyes one by one. Acquiescence.

“He’s so cute, but I guess he is a lot, huh…” Lissa says. “You’re gonna need patience like Emm to deal with him.”

“Gods, no one has patience like Emm,” Chrom says. But looking down at his tiny new friend, he isn’t daunted by his prospects at all. “He’s just not used to the world yet. Once he learns how everything works, he’s going to be just fine. I have a feeling we’ll be the best of friends.”

Little does Chrom know, Grima hears every word that he says. Little does Chrom know, Grima understands the human tongue fairly well. And little does Chrom know, his words mean so very much to a dragon who only ever wanted his creator to smile at him.

Little do either of them realize, the powerful force known as “love” flowing around them is more powerful than anything Grima has ever consumed before.

The next morning, Grima awakes to find his pocket a little cramped, and he makes a noise in protest. But Chrom, sleepy as he is, just pulls Grima onto his chest without any thought. Satisfied for the moment, Grima does not dwell on the matter either.

It is a couple of weeks before Chrom realizes that Grima definitely, absolutely does not fit into his pocket anymore. Or even the palm of his hand.

“Emm!” Chrom shouts from halfway across the castle. “How fast are dragons supposed to grow?”

* * *

Chrom is not exactly what you’d call a scholar. Still, he’s read several books in the last couple of days, and all of them say that dragons take several years to grow to their full size. And that’s wyverns, not divine dragons, who take thousands of years to reach physical maturity.

… So why is Grima the size of a cat already? Two days ago he was more like a small bunny!

Chrom turns a page of his book, only for the dragon in his lap to growl disapprovingly.

“What, were you not finished reading?” Chrom asks drily. He turns the page back, and Grima rests a wing on top of it. 

To Chrom’s surprise, Grima leans forward like he actually is reading.

“Wait— Grima, can you actually…? No way…” Chrom shakes his head. “Do you know what this book is saying?”

Grima looks up at him and—Chrom is certain he sees it—gives him a nod.

“Well, why didn’t you tell me?” Chrom exclaims.

Grima grows still. Unbeknownst to Chrom, Grima has been honing his language skills even further. He can even make words himself with lips not plainly visible to others. Reading comes surprisingly easy to him, helped along by Chrom’s tendency to mumble the words to himself. But to tell the humans about this… What if they don’t like it? Chrom is already looking disturbed. Grima hates it. Closing his eyes, he presses his head into Chrom’s chest. He does not know what he will do if his friend does not like this about him. He does not think he can simply stop knowing this language. But if Chrom does not accept it, he will have to try.

“Oh, I…” Chrom wraps his arms around Grima’s body. “I mean, that’s incredible. You’re incredible. But now I feel stupid. I’ve been talking to you the whole time like you wouldn’t get what I was saying… Er, forgive me for that?”

An unseen human face breaks into a smile, but Grima still does not dare speak. Not yet.

Chrom is satisfied to hear his dragon friend make an approving purr.

* * *

Grima is definitely unlike any other dragon in the world. The most obvious reason is that he is growing exponentially. Before long, he is the size of a horse.

“Chrom, you can’t keep keeping him in the castle like this!” Lissa insists. “He’s too big!”

“The castle is bigger,” Chrom protests.

It’s bad enough that Grima can’t sleep in his bed anymore. There’s no way Chrom is going to put him out in the cold.

“Grima is obviously not a common animal to be put outside,” Emmeryn says calmly. “However… If he continues to grow, it will not be long before he will no longer be able to fit through our doors.”

Chrom sighs and turns to Grima beside him. The dragon’s expression is unreadable. 

“What do you think?” Chrom asks. “I… I do not want you to suffer.”

Grima spreads his wings. The tips of his feather do not yet touch the walls, but it is only a matter of time before they do.

“Perhaps we can build a separate room for you,” Chrom suggests. “Somewhere you can sleep at night, with access outside so that you can fly at your leisure.”

Grima hisses, suddenly wrapping all of his wings around Chrom.

“Chrom?” Concern crosses Emmeryn’s face, but she calms when his face breaks through the feathers.

“Of course we’ll still be together,” Chrom says fondly, placing a hand over one of Grima’s wings. “What kind of life could I live without my best friend?”

Lissa titters, turning to her sister.

“Do you think Frederick is jealous Grima took his spot?” she asks.

“Frederick the Wary is no doubt worried about the dangers of dragonkeeping,” Emmeryn says with a smile. “Ah, but I am sure that deep down, he is happy that our brother has found someone he trusts deeply, even if it is not a human.”

* * *

The problem is that Grima’s continuous growth outpaces their ability to expand the castle. In only a year’s time, they have no choice but to set Grima up outside, as he literally will not fit inside the castle anymore.

If there’s one good thing that’s come from this, it’s that the castle is safer than ever. No one in their right mind would threaten a place guarded by a giant dragon, and the single thief who dared to try anyway was utterly disintegrated by dragonbreath.

Chrom still considers it an awful, tortuous situation. Grima cannot accompany him everywhere he goes. Grima cannot really go anywhere at all. Chrom can only come out and visit him in his free time.

“And with sufficient flog… floj… p-h-l-o-g-i-s-t-o-n…” Chrom reads from his position atop Grima’s head. “Dragonbreath can become fire and— Hey, what’s that look for?”

Grima can’t really look at Chrom from this angle, but he just seems so dejected.

“Is it the book?” Chrom asks. “It’s more advanced than I actually understand. Is this not the one you wanted to read?”

Grima hisses. So that’s not the problem.

“Then... “ Chrom looks out at the horizon. The moon is rising ever higher in the sky. “Don’t tell me you’re sad because I’m going to have to go back inside soon…”

Grima raises his head a little higher, farther away from the ground. Chrom would not be able to make it to the ground without climbing down Grima’s back and tail. The long way.

“So am I,” Chrom says with a sigh. He flops onto his back, as though he could simply substitute Grima’s head for a bed. “You know, if I weren’t a prince, we could just run away. Nothing would ever be too small for you again. We’d have the whole world. But…” 

He closes his eyes, and the faces of his family and friends flash through his mind. His people, too.

“I have a duty to this place I call home,” he continues. “Even if it’s a heavy burden sometimes, my people need me to do what they do not have the means to do themselves. And besides…”

He envisions one more face and opens his eyes. If Grima were not here, he certainly would not be baring his soul to anyone under the stars like this.

“If I weren’t a prince, Naga would never have called on me, and I wouldn’t have met you.” Chrom smiles, running his hand along Grima’s thick skin. “If it ever gets to be too much for you, staying here like this… Well, you aren’t a prisoner. You can go wherever your wings will take you. But if you do decide to go, I just want you to know… You will always have a home with me.”

Slowly, Grima lowers his head to the ground. So he can rest, and so Chrom can get down.

Chrom gives one of Grima’s horns a hug and slides his way to the ground. 

“Wish I could stay with you longer,” he says, offering a sad smile.

Grima wishes he could, too. But the words stick in his throat. He still has yet to speak a word to anyone, and he doesn’t know if he should. What if Chrom finds out how Grima truly feels and cannot accept it from a creature such as him? He wants to be by his side at all times, he wants to protect the tiny human the way Grima himself was protected when he was tiny, he wants to eat his meals with Chrom, he wants to sleep skin to skin, he wants to teach Chrom the things the human doesn’t understand from books, he wants Chrom to teach him how to use a sword so they can spar like he does with his other friends...

What he wants is to be a human. It’s not fair. He already is a little bit of one. The tears falling down his second face prove it.

But he is also a dragon. Sort of. He is an alchemical monstrosity. And to the world, to Chrom, his six glowing red eyes remain bone-dry.

* * *

Chrom fears, but does not really expect, that Grima will actually leave one day. So when it happens, he is unprepared and heartbroken.

“What do you mean he flew away?” he asks the castle guard given the unfortunate task of breaking this news to him. “Which way? Where is he going?”

“He flew in the direction of Thabes, milord,” the guard says. “Perhaps he… wanted to see his birthplace again.”

“His birthplace…” Chrom echoes. Grima is ludicrously intelligent. He might even remember the process of his creation. It’s not like Chrom ever asked. “Yeah… Maybe…”

There have been threats near the eastern border lately. Chrom cannot just get up and follow Grima west to Thabes, no matter how much he’d like to.

Besides, he was the one who told Grima it was okay to go. Now he just has to hope that his friend will return home someday.

* * *

Two long, difficult years pass. Chrom did not realize just how much he depended on Grima’s presence until the dragon was gone, and now there is nothing he can do to heal the pain in his heart.

He often asks after Grima, but no one has ever heard of him. How a giant dragon manages to disappear from the face of the earth, Chrom does not know. He wishes Grima could hold a pen, that way he could at least write to him. But his longing alone does no good.

Then one day at the marketplace, everything changes.

Chrom is there to buy new training weapons for his soldiers. He’s a little distracted (he often is these days) and doesn’t notice the person walking behind him, so when he makes an abrupt pause, the man crashes into him.

“I apolo—” Chrom freezes, his hand half-extended in aid, as he takes in the sight of what is surely the most beautiful man he has ever seen. His hair is as white as snow and looks like it might be just as soft. The dark cloak he wears is well-made and adorned with symbols that look vaguely familiar. His vibrant red eyes gleam like jewels, and his smile is absolutely dazzling.

“Found you,” the man says. He grips Chrom’s hand tightly.

“Huh?” Chrom blurts dumbly. “Were you looking for me?”

“You weren’t at the castle,” the man says. “I didn’t want to wait.”

“Er… sorry,” Chrom says. “Do I… know you?”

“Ah…” The man bites back a laugh. “To think you would so quickly forget about your best friend.”

Chrom’s eyes widen. That shade of red… He’s seen it before…

“Grima?” he asks. “It’s you, isn’t it! But you’re… How?”

“I paid a visit to Naga…” Grima says. “I recalled that her form was quite similar to a human’s… If other dragons are so capable, I thought I must have the power as well.”

“Naga, of course…” Chrom shakes his head. “I should have considered asking her sooner.”

“I don’t much care for her habits,” Grima says with a scowl. “But I will consider her no further… She did show me what I needed to know.”

Grima tugs Chrom forward by their still-connected hands. He lets go only to wrap both his arms around Chrom fully.

It’s a little different than being enveloped in wings, but Chrom doesn’t mind the change. It’s still Grima.

“I’m glad you’re home.” Chrom’s delighted laugh comes out a little choked.

“I’m here to stay this time,” Grima says. His fingers dig into the cloth of Chrom’s cape. “From now on, it’s you and me.”

* * *

Thus, they lived at each other’s sides, two halves that worked better as a whole.

And both of them felt that this was exactly the way things should be.


End file.
